Systems and methods for utilizing a device as a marker for augmented reality content

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for utilizing a device as a marker for virtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment are discussed herein. The device (or sign post) may comprise a wirelessly connectable device linked to a power source and associated with multiple linkage points. The device may provide information to a user (or a device of a user) defining virtual content and a correlation between the linkage points and a reference frame of the virtual content. When rendered by a display device, the virtual content may be presented based on the reference frame of the virtual content correlated to the real world by virtue of the position of the linkage points in the real world.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The systems and methods described herein relate to presenting virtualcontent in an augmented reality environment.

BACKGROUND

Augmented reality environments may be used to present virtual content tousers as if it were present in the real world.

SUMMARY

The systems and methods described herein may facilitate the presentationof virtual content to a user by utilizing a device as a marker for thevirtual content when viewed in an augmented reality environment. Anaugmented reality environment may include views of images formingvirtual content superimposed over views of the real world. The device(or sign post) may comprise a wirelessly connectable device linked to apower source and associated with multiple linkage points. For example,the device may comprise a powered and Bluetooth enabled flash drive, asmartphone, a cellphone, a tablet, or other user device. The device mayprovide information to a user (or a device of a user) defining virtualcontent and a correlation between the linkage points and a referenceframe of the virtual content. When rendered by a display device, thevirtual content may be presented based on the reference frame of thevirtual content correlated to the real world by virtue of the positionof the linkage points in the real world.

In various implementations, the system described herein may beconfigured to utilize a device as a marker for virtual content viewed inan augmented reality environment, in accordance with one or moreimplementations. The system may include one or more of an interface, oneor more physical processors, electronic storage, a display device, asign post, and/or other components. The sign post may be configured toserve as the aforementioned marker for virtual content in an augmentedreality environment.

The one or more physical processors may be configured bycomputer-readable instructions. Executing the computer-readableinstructions may cause the one or more physical processors to utilizeon-camera sensor information to improve video encoding quality. Thecomputer-readable instructions may include one or more computer programcomponents. The computer program components may include one or more of acommunication session component, a user interface component, a contentmanagement component, an image generation component, a display controlcomponent, and/or other computer program components. The one or morephysical processors may be physically located within a user deviceand/or within any of the other components of the system. For example,the user device may comprise the display device and/or becommunicatively coupled to the display device. The one or more physicalprocessors may represent processing functionality of multiple componentsof the system operating in coordination. Therefore, the variousprocessing functionality described in relation to the one or moreprocessors may be performed by a single component or by multiplecomponents of the system. For example, a user device may perform each ofthe functions described herein, or the various functions may be dividedup such that the functions performed by the communication sessioncomponent are performed by the user device, the functions performed bythe content management component are performed by a sign post, and/orthe functions performed by the display control component are performedby the display device.

The communication session component may be configured to facilitate oneor more communications sessions between one or more devices. Forexample, the communication session component may be configured tofacilitate one or more communication sessions between one or moredevices of a user (e.g., a user device and/or a display device) and asign post. In various implementations, the one or more communicationssessions that are established between the one or more devices of a userand a sign post may enable to one or more devices of a user to provideinformation to or receive information from the sign post with or withouta connection to a network (e.g., the Internet) by providing or receivingthe information via the one or more communications sessions.

The user interface component may be configured to obtain an indicationof the virtual content accessible to a system. For example, the virtualcontent accessible to a system may comprise virtual content stored on auser device, on a display device, at a sign post, or otherwise stored inelectronic storage, or virtual content available via a network (e.g.,obtainable via the Internet, stored in cloud storage, or otherwiseavailable via a network). A list of the available virtual content (i.e.,virtual content accessible to the system) may be displayed to the user.For example, a list of the available virtual content may be displayedvia a graphical user interface of a user device, a display of displaydevice, or any other display interface provided via a user device and/orother component of the system. In various implementations, the list ofavailable virtual content may be selectable, enabling a user to selectvirtual content to be presented via the display device.

The content management component may be configured to manage contentavailable to be presented in an augmented reality environment. Forexample, content management component may be configured to download,upload, modify, remove, and/or otherwise manage information storedand/or accessible by the system. The information may include virtualcontent information. Virtual content information may define virtualcontent (or a set of virtual content), a reference frame of the virtualcontent, and/or a correlation between linkage points associated with adevice and the reference frame of the virtual content. In variousimplementations, the content management component may be configured toobtain virtual content information from a sign post. For example, thecontent management component may be configured to obtain virtual contentinformation from a sign post in response to an indication (e.g., aselection) of virtual content to be displayed by a display device of auser. In some implementations, the content management component may beconfigured to download virtual content information from the Internet orfrom cloud storage. For example, the content management component may beconfigured to determine whether virtual content information definingselected virtual content is locally stored or available and download therequired virtual content information based on a determination that thevirtual content information is not locally stored or available.

The image generation component may be configured to generate an image ofvirtual content to be displayed in an augmented reality environment. Invarious implementations, the image generation component may beconfigured to generate an image of virtual content to be displayed in anaugmented reality environment based at least on a user's field of viewand virtual content information (i.e., information defining at least thevirtual content and a reference frame of the virtual content).

A user's field of view may be defined based on orientation information,location information, and/or other information. The orientationinformation may define an orientation of the display device. Forexample, the orientation of display device may be defined by one or moreof a pitch angle, a roll angle, a yaw angle, and/or other measurements.When looking through the display device, the orientation of displaydevice may indicate the direction of a user's gaze. The locationinformation may identify a physical location of the display device. Bydetermining the direction of a user's gaze and the user's physicalposition in the real world, a user's field of view may be determined.

The image generation component may be configured to generate an image ofvirtual content to be displayed in an augmented reality environmentbased further on the correlation between linkage points associated withthe sign post and a reference frame of the virtual content. The linkagepoints associated with a sign post may serve as an anchor for thereference frame of the virtual content. As such, when rendered in anaugmented reality environment by the display device, the virtual contentmay appear within a user's field of view based on how the referenceframe of the virtual content is correlated to the real world by virtueof the position of the linkage points in the real world.

The image generation component may be configured to automaticallygenerate images of the virtual content as a user's field of viewchanges, thus changing the depiction of the virtual content in theaugmented reality environment based on the reference frame of thevirtual content and its correlation to the position of the linkagepoints. The image generation component may be configured to generate animage of virtual content that may appear simultaneously with otherimages of virtual content. For example, a first set of virtual contentbased on a first reference frame may be depicted simultaneously with asecond set of virtual content based on a second reference frame. In someimplementations, the image generation component may be configured togenerate images of virtual content automatically when one or morecommunication sessions have been established or virtual contentinformation has been obtained, and/or in response to an indication froma user to cause virtual content to be displayed.

The display control component may be configured to cause an imagegenerated by image generation component to be displayed in an augmentedreality environment via a display device. The display control componentmay be configured to effectuate transmission of instructions to thedisplay device to cause the image to be displayed. Images of virtualcontent generated by image generation component may be presented via adisplay device in conjunction with the real world so that the virtualcontent appears as if it exists in the real world.

These and other objects, features, and characteristics of the systemand/or method disclosed herein, as well as the methods of operation andfunctions of the related elements of structure and the combination ofparts and economies of manufacture, will become more apparent uponconsideration of the following description and the appended claims withreference to the accompanying drawings, all of which form a part of thisspecification, wherein like reference numerals designate correspondingparts in the various figures. It is to be expressly understood, however,that the drawings are for the purpose of illustration and descriptiononly and are not intended as a definition of the limits of theinvention. As used in the specification and in the claims, the singularform of “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural referents unless the contextclearly dictates otherwise.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates a system for utilizing a device as a marker forvirtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B illustrate exemplary displays of an augmentedreality environment with and without virtual content, in accordance withone or more implementations.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B illustrate exemplary displays of an augmentedreality environment with virtual content, in accordance with one or moreimplementations.

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B illustrate an exemplary sign post with multiplelinkage points, in accordance with one or more implementations.

FIG. 5 illustrates a method for utilizing a device as a marker forvirtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment, inaccordance with one or more implementations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure relates to systems and methods for utilizing a device asa marker for virtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment,in accordance with one or more implementations. An augmented realityenvironment may include views of images forming virtual contentsuperimposed over views of the real world. The device (or sign post) maycomprise a wirelessly connectable device linked to a power source andassociated with multiple linkage points. For example, the device maycomprise a powered and Bluetooth enabled flash drive, a smartphone, acellphone, a tablet, or other user device. The device may provideinformation to a user (or a device of a user) defining virtual contentand a correlation between the linkage points and a reference frame ofthe virtual content. When rendered by a display device, the virtualcontent may be presented based on the reference frame of the virtualcontent correlated to the real world by virtue of the position of thelinkage points in the real world.

It will be appreciated by those having skill in the art that theimplementations described herein may be practiced without these specificdetails or with an equivalent arrangement. In other instances,well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form inorder to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the implementations of theinvention.

Exemplary System Architecture

FIG. 1 illustrates a system 100 for utilizing a device as a marker forvirtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment, inaccordance with one or more implementations. The system may include oneor more of interface 102, one or more physical processors 110,electronic storage 130, display device 140, sign post 150, and/or othercomponents.

The one or more physical processors 110 (also interchangeably referredto herein as processor(s) 110, processor 110, or processors 110 forconvenience) may be configured to provide information processingcapabilities in system 100. As such, the processor(s) 110 may compriseone or more of a digital processor, an analog processor, a digitalcircuit designed to process information, a central processing unit, agraphics processing unit, a microcontroller, an analog circuit designedto process information, a state machine, and/or other mechanisms forelectronically processing information.

Processor(s) 110 may be configured to execute one or more computerreadable instructions 112. Computer readable instructions 112 mayinclude one or more computer program components. Computer readableinstructions 112 may include one or more of communication sessioncomponent 114, user interface component 116, content managementcomponent 118, image generation component 120, display control component122, and/or other computer program components. As used herein, forconvenience, the various computer readable instructions 112 will bedescribed as performing an operation, when, in fact, the variousinstructions program the processor(s) 110 (and therefore system 100) toperform the operation.

Communication session component 114 may be configured to facilitate oneor more communications sessions between one or more devices. Forexample, communication session component 114 may be configured tofacilitate one or more communication sessions between one or moredevices of a user (e.g., a user device and/or display device 140) andsign post 150. In various implementations, the one or morecommunications sessions that are established between one or more devicesof a user and sign post 150 may enable to one or more devices of a userto provide information to or receive information from sign post 150 withor without a connection to a network (e.g., the Internet) by providingor receiving the information via the one or more communicationssessions. For example, communication session component 114 may beconfigured to facilitate one or more communications sessions byestablishing a Bluetooth connection between one or more devices of auser and sign post 150.

In some implementations, communication session component 114 may beconfigured to facilitate one or more communication sessions between oneor more devices of a user and sign post 150 when a user (or one or moredevices of a user) moves within a defined proximity of sign post 150.For example, the defined proximity may be defined by a user, defined byan administrator, defined based on the range of a connection betweensign post 150 and one or more user devices, and/or otherwise defined. Insome implementations, a location of a user may be determined based onlocation information obtained from one or more devices of a user. Forexample, location information may be obtained from a GPS component of auser device. In some implementations, communication session component114 may be configured to facilitate one or more communication sessionsbetween one or more devices of a user and sign post 150 when sign post150 enters within a field of view of display device 140. For example, anindicator on sign post 150 may trigger communication session component114 to initiate one or more communication sessions when the indicator isdetected within a field of view of display device 140. In someimplementations, communication session component 114 may be configuredto prompt a user before facilitating one or more communication sessions.For example, communication session component 114 may be configured tocause a message to be provided to a user via a user interface to promptthe user to indicate whether to initiate one or more communicationsessions with sign post 150.

User interface component 116 may be configured to generate and cause auser interface to be displayed to a user. In various implementations,the user interface may be displayed to a user via a display interface ofa user device. For example, a user interface may be displayed to a uservia a graphical user interface of a user device, a display of displaydevice 140, or any other display interface provided via a user deviceand/or a component of system 100. In some implementations, userinterface component 116 may be configured to generate a user interfacethat provides a user with information related to system 100 withoutenabling the user to provide input via the user interface. For example,the information related to the system may comprise an indication of oneor more connected devices (e.g., a user device such as a smartphone ordisplay device, one or more sign posts, and/or other devices connectableto system 100), sets of virtual content depicted in the augmentedreality environment whether currently visible or not, sets of virtualcontent available to be presented via display device 140 (e.g., contentavailable via one or more devices of a user, electronic storage 130,sign post 150, and/or other components of system 100), an indication ofa direction in which virtual content may be visible via a display of adisplay device, a current time and/or date, and/or other informationrelated to system 100. In some implementations, user interface component116 may be configured to generate a user interface that provides a userwith information related to system 100 and enables a user to provideinput. For example, the user interface may comprise selectable icons,input fields, and/or other user input options enabling a user to controlone or more aspects of system 100.

In various implementations, user interface component 116 may beconfigured to generate a user interface that provides an indication ofthe sets of virtual content available to be presented via display device140. Virtual content may comprise one or more virtual content itemsdepicted in an augmented reality environment based on one or morereference frames. An augmented reality environment may comprise a spacethat represents a virtual environment that may be superimposed over aperspective of a physical real world environment around a user. Anaugmented reality environment may include attributes of a virtualenvironment, including virtual content superimposed over portions of thephysical environment. In some implementations, an augmented realityenvironment may represent physical objects in the physical world asvirtual content in the augmented environment.

A virtual content item may refer to an object, surface, texture, effect,and/or other items visibly manifested in views of the augmented realityenvironment. A set of virtual content refers to a virtual content itemor virtual content items that share a reference frame. That is, theposition, orientation, scale, and/or other parameters of the virtualcontent item or items in the set of virtual content can be manipulatedin a coordinated way by manipulating the reference frame for the set ofvirtual content.

At times, a view of the augmented reality environment may includevirtual content items from multiple sets of virtual content. A given setof virtual content may be depicted in the augmented reality environmentin accordance with the corresponding reference frames. That means afirst set of virtual content present in a view of the augmented realityenvironment may correspond to a first reference frame that is separateand/or independent from a second reference frame that corresponds to asecond set of virtual content. In some implementations, some of the setsof virtual content may have a hierarchical structure in which multiplesets of virtual content are included within a set of virtual contentthat is “higher” in the hierarchy with a corresponding reference frame.For example, the first set of virtual content and the second set ofvirtual content may both be included within a third set of virtualcontent that corresponds to a third reference frame. This hierarchy mayenable the position, orientation, scale, and/or other parameters of thefirst set of virtual content and/or the second set of virtual content tobe manipulated separately and/or independently from each (e.g., via thefirst reference frame and/or the second reference frame), and/ormanipulated together by manipulating the third reference frame.

The sets of virtual content available to be presented via display device140 may include sets of virtual content stored on or accessible via oneor more devices of a user, electronic storage 130, sign post 150, and/orother components of system 100. In some implementations, one or moredevices of a user may receive an indication of the sets of virtualcontent available via sign post 150 from sign post 150. In someimplementations, user interface component 116 may be configured togenerate and cause a user interface to be displayed to a user thatincludes a selectable list of the sets of virtual content available viasign post 150. In some implementations, user interface component 116 maybe configured to receive a selection indicating a set of virtual contentto be presented via display device 140.

Content management component 118 may be configured to manage contentavailable to be presented in an augmented reality environment. Invarious implementations, content management component 118 may beconfigured to download, upload, modify, remove, and/or otherwise manageinformation stored and/or accessible by system 100. Information storedand/or accessible by system 100 may include virtual content information.Virtual content information may define virtual content (or a set ofvirtual content), a reference frame of the virtual content, and/or acorrelation between linkage points associated with a device and thereference frame of the virtual content. The linkage points may comprisemarkers, transponders, stitching points, and/or other identified pointson the device. The linkage points associated with a sign post may serveas an anchor for the reference frame of virtual content.

In various implementations, content management component 118 may beconfigured to obtain virtual content information. For example, contentmanagement component 118 may be configured to obtain virtual contentinformation from sign post 150 via one or more communication sessionsfacilitated by communication session component 114. In someimplementations, content management component 118 may be configured toobtain virtual content information from sign post 150 automatically whenone or more communication sessions facilitated by communication sessioncomponent 114 have been established. In some implementations, contentmanagement component 118 may be configured to obtain virtual contentinformation from sign post 150 in response to a request for virtualcontent from a user received at a device of the user. For example,content management component 118 may be configured to obtain virtualcontent information from sign post 150 in response to receipt of anindication of a selection of virtual content to be displayed on displaydevice 140.

In various implementations, content management component 118 may beconfigured to obtain virtual content information via a network (e.g.,obtainable via the Internet, stored in cloud storage, or otherwiseavailable via a network). For example, content management component 118may be configured to download virtual content information from theInternet or from cloud storage in response to a selection of virtualcontent to be displayed on display device 140. In some implementations,content management component 118 may be configured to determine whethervirtual content information defining selected virtual content is locallystored or available via a device of a user, electronic storage 130, signpost 150, and/or other components of system 100. Based on adetermination that the virtual content information is not available viaa device of a user, electronic storage 130, sign post 150, or othercomponent of system 100, content management component 118 may beconfigured to download virtual content information from the Internet orfrom cloud storage based. For example, content management component 118may be configured to automatically download virtual content informationbased on a determination that the virtual content information is notavailable via a device of a user, electronic storage 130, sign post 150,or other component of system 100.

In various implementations, content management component 118 may beconfigured to store virtual content information at one or more devicesof a user, electronic storage 130, sign post 150, and/or other storagecomponent accessible by system 100. For example, content managementcomponent 118 may be configured to store virtual content information incloud storage. In some implementations, content management component 118may be configured to automatically store virtual content information atsign post 150 that is viewed in conjunction with the multiple linkagepoints associated with sign post 150. In some implementations, contentmanagement component 118 may be configured to store virtual contentinformation at sign post 150 based on receipt of an indication from auser to store virtual content information at sign post 150.

In various implementations, content management component 118 may beconfigured to modify virtual content information. In someimplementations, content management component 118 may be configured tomodify virtual content information based on input received from a deviceof a user. For example, a user device, display device 140, and/or othercomponents of system 100 may be configured to receive user input. Userinput may comprise physical input, audio input, gesture-based input,and/or other input.

Virtual content information stored at sign post 150 may be accessible toother users, enabling virtual content created, modified, and/or obtainedby a user to be shared with other users via sign post 150. In variousimplementations, content management component 118 may be configured toestablish one or more access controls associated with virtual contentinformation. For example, content management component 118 may beconfigured to establish one or more access controls associated withvirtual content information stored at sign post 150. Different accesscontrols may be established for different virtual content information.Access controls may restrict users to accessing, downloading, uploading,modifying, storing, removing, and/or otherwise interacting with virtualcontent information. In various implementations, content managementcomponent 118 may be configured to access, download, upload, modify,store, remove, and/or otherwise manage information stored and/oraccessible by system 100 based on one or more access controls.

Image generation component 120 may be configured to generate an image ofvirtual content to be displayed in an augmented reality environment. Invarious implementations, image generation component 120 may beconfigured to generate an image of virtual content to be displayed in anaugmented reality environment visible via display device 140. Images ofvirtual content generated by image generation component 120 may bepresented via a display of display device 140 in conjunction with thereal world so that the virtual content appears as if it exists in thereal world. In various implementations, image generation component 120may be configured to generate an image of virtual content to bedisplayed in an augmented reality environment based at least on a user'sfield of view and virtual content information obtained via contentmanagement component 118.

In various implementations, image generation component 120 may beconfigured to generate an image of virtual content to be displayed in anaugmented reality environment based on a user's field of view. Whenutilizing display device 140, a display of the display device maycontain a view of the real world based on the user's field of view. Auser's field of view may be defined based on orientation information,location information, and/or other information. For example, a user'sfield of view may be defined based at least on orientation informationassociated with display device 140 and location information associatedwith display device 140. Orientation information may define anorientation of display device 140. In some implementations, theorientation of display device 140 may refer to one or more of a pitchangle, a roll angle, a yaw angle, and/or other measurements. Orientationinformation may be obtained from an orientation sensor of display device140. When looking through display device 140, the orientation of displaydevice 140 may indicate the direction of a user's gaze. Locationinformation may identify a physical location of display device 140. Insome implementations, the physical location of display device 140 mayrefer to the geographic location of display device 140. Locationinformation may identify a physical location based on GPS coordinates,an address, a relative position with respect to one or more identifiedlocations, and/or other information. Location information may beobtained from a GPS component of a user device, display device 140,and/or other component of system 100. By determining the direction of auser's gaze and the user's physical position in the real world, a user'sfield of view may be determined.

In various implementations, image generation component 120 may beconfigured to generate an image of virtual content to be displayed in anaugmented reality environment based on virtual content informationobtained via content management component 118. Virtual contentinformation may define virtual content (or a set of virtual content), areference frame of the virtual content, and/or a correlation betweenlinkage points associated with sign post 150 and the reference frame ofthe virtual content. The linkage points associated with sign posts mayserve as an anchor for the reference frame of the virtual content. Assuch, when rendered in an augmented reality environment by displaydevice 140, the virtual content may appear within a user's field of viewbased on how the reference frame of the virtual content is correlated tothe real world by virtue of the position of the linkage points in thereal world.

For example, and referring to FIG. 2A, exemplary display 200 of anaugmented reality environment without virtual content is illustrated, inaccordance with one or more implementations. Exemplary display 200 mayinclude sign post 150, table 204, and chairs 206, 208, and 210.Exemplary display 200 may comprise what is seen when a user looksthrough display device 140 without virtual content rendered within theuser's field of view. If an image is generated by image generationcomponent 120 that is rendered within the user's field of view, virtualcontent may appear within the display of display device 140. Forexample, and referring to FIG. 2B, exemplary display 212 of an augmentedreality environment with virtual content is illustrated, in accordancewith one or more implementations. Exemplary display 212 may includetable 204 along with a set of virtual content depicting a table setting(i.e., plates, utensils, center pieces, and other items). In variousimplementations, virtual content information defining at least thevirtual content depicted in exemplary display 212 may be obtained fromsign post 150.

In various implementations, image generation component 120 may beconfigured to generate a new image of virtual content as a user's fieldof view changes. For example, display device 140 may move as a userutilizing display device 140 changes position and/or rotates displaydevice 140. As display device 140 moves, image generation component 120may be configured to automatically generate a new image based on theuser's current field of view and virtual content information obtainedvia content management component 118. Therefore, image generationcomponent 120 may be configured to generate a first image of virtualcontent to be displayed at a first time based on the field of view ofthe user at the first time and generate a second image of virtualcontent to be displayed at a second time based on the field of view ofthe user at the second time.

For example, and referring to FIG. 3A, exemplary display 300 of anaugmented reality environment with virtual content is illustrated, inaccordance with one or more implementations. Exemplary display 300 maycomprise sign post 150 and virtual content 304. Exemplary display 300may include virtual content 304 depicting an automobile. Sign post 150may comprise a smart phone. Sign post 150 may be associated withmultiple linkage points, such as markers, transponders, stitchingpoints, and/or other identified points on the device, that serve as ananchor for the reference frame of virtual content 304. In variousimplementations, virtual content information defining virtual content304 and/or a correlation between the linkage points and a referenceframe of virtual content 304 may be obtained from sign post 150. Asdisplay device 140 moves, image generation component 120 may beconfigured to automatically generate a new image based on the user'scurrent field of view. For example, and referring to FIG. 3B, exemplarydisplay 302 of an augmented reality environment with virtual content isillustrated, in accordance with one or more implementations. As a user(or display device 140) moves with respect to sign post 150, the imagespresented to the user via display device 140 may change based on thechange in the user's field of view. For example, exemplary display 302may comprise a display of the augmented reality environment depicted inexemplary display 300 after a user (or display device 140) moves 90degrees rotationally around sign post 150. As such, exemplary display302 may comprise an image of virtual content 304 rotated 90 degrees. Invarious implementations, the reference frame of virtual content 304 maybe anchored to the multiple linkage points of sign post 150, enablingvirtual content 304 to be fixed in space as a user (or display device140) moves with respect to sign post 150 and virtual content 304.

In various implementations, image generation component 120 may beconfigured to generate an image of virtual content to appearsimultaneously with another image of virtual content within an augmentedreality environment. For example, a first set of virtual content basedon a first reference frame may be depicted simultaneously with a secondset of virtual content based on a second reference frame. In someimplementations, virtual content associated with sign post 150 may bedepicted simultaneously with additional virtual content. For example,display device 140 may be displaying virtual content prior to comingwithin a proximity of sign post 150. In some implementations, imagegeneration component 120 may be configured to generate an image in whicha first set of virtual content is overlaid on a second set of virtualcontent. In some implementations, sets of virtual content from differentsources may be depicted by display device 140 simultaneously.

In some implementations, image generation component 120 may beconfigured to automatically generate an image of virtual content to bedisplayed in an augmented reality environment when one or morecommunication sessions facilitated by communication session component114 have been established and/or when virtual content information hasbeen obtained from content management component 118. In someimplementations, image generation component 120 may be configured togenerate an image of virtual content to be displayed in an augmentedreality environment based on an indication from a user to cause virtualcontent to be displayed. For example, image generation component 120 maybe configured to generate an image of virtual content to be displayed inan augmented reality environment responsive to receipt of a selection ofvirtual content via user interface component 116.

Display control component 122 may be configured to cause an image ofvisual content to be displayed in an augmented reality environment viadisplay device 140. In various implementations, display controlcomponent 122 may be configured to effectuate transmission ofinstructions to display device 140. In various implementations, displaycontrol component 122 may be configured to generate and/or obtaininstructions causing an image of visual content to be displayed viadisplay device 140.

Electronic storage 130 may include electronic storage media thatelectronically stores information. The electronic storage media ofelectronic storage 130 may be provided integrally (i.e., substantiallynon-removable) with one or more components of system 100 and/orremovable storage that is connectable to one or more components ofsystem 100 via, for example, a port (e.g., a USB port, a Firewire port,etc.) or a drive (e.g., a disk drive, etc.). Electronic storage 130 mayinclude one or more of optically readable storage media (e.g., opticaldisks, etc.), magnetically readable storage media (e.g., magnetic tape,magnetic hard drive, floppy drive, etc.), electrical charge-basedstorage media (e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, RAM, etc.), solid-state storagemedia (e.g., flash drive, etc.), and/or other electronically readablestorage media. Electronic storage 130 may be a separate component withinsystem 100, or electronic storage 130 may be provided integrally withone or more other components of system 100 (e.g., processor 110 or signpost 150). Although electronic storage 130 is shown in FIG. 1 as asingle entity, this is for illustrative purposes only. In someimplementations, electronic storage 130 may comprise multiple storageunits. These storage units may be physically located within the samedevice, or electronic storage 130 may represent storage functionality ofmultiple devices operating in coordination

Electronic storage 130 may store software algorithms, informationdetermined by processor 110, information received remotely, and/or otherinformation that enables system 100 to function properly. For example,electronic storage 130 may store virtual content information, anindication of virtual content stored and/or accessible by the system,images generated by image generation component 120, sensor information(e.g., orientation information), device information, locationinformation, and/or other information.

Display device 140 may be configured to present virtual content in anaugmented reality environment. In various implementations, displaydevice 140 may be configured to generate light and provide the light toan eye of a user such that the light forms images of the virtual contentconfigured to be perceived in the augmented reality environment as if itwere present in the real world. Display device 140 may include one ormore of a display, one or more sensors, and/or other components.Presentation of virtual content via a display of display device 140 maybe facilitated by control signals communicated to display device 140.For example, display control component 122 may be configured tocommunicate one or more control signals to display device 140. In someimplementations, display device 140 may be configured to present contentindividually to each eye of a user as stereoscopic pairs.

Display device 140 may comprise any device capable of displaying areal-time view of a physical, real-world environment while superimposingimages of virtual content over the real-time view of the physical,real-world environment. As such, display device 140 may comprise anydevice that includes and/or is communicatively coupled to an imagecapturing device (e.g., a camera) that may be used to capture a view ofthe real-world environment. In various implementations, display device140 may comprise a smartphone, a tablet, a computer, a wearable device(e.g., a headset, a visor, and/or any other wearable device) and/or anyother device configured to present views of virtual content in anaugmented reality environment. In some implementations, display device140 may be arranged on, and/or may comprise part of, a headset (notshown in FIG. 1 ). When headset is installed on a user's head, theuser's gaze may be directed towards display device 140 (or at least adisplay of display device 140) to view content presented by displaydevice 140.

A display of display device 140 may include one or more of screen, a setof screens, a touchscreen, a monitor, a headset (e.g., a head-mounteddisplay, glasses, goggles), and/or other displays. In someimplementations, a display may include one or more of a transparent,semi-transparent, reflective, and/or semi-reflective display component,such as a visor. Images of virtual content may be presented on thedisplay component such that the user may view the images presented onthe display component as well as the real-world through the displaycomponent. The virtual content may be perceived as being present in thereal world. Such a configuration may provide an interactive spacecomprising an augmented reality environment. By way of non-limitingillustration, display device 140 may comprise an AR headset.

Individual sensors of display device 140 may be configured to generateoutput signals. An individual sensor may include an orientation sensorand/or other sensors. An orientation sensor of display device 140 may beconfigured to generate output signals conveying orientation informationand/or other information. Orientation information derived from outputsignals of an orientation sensor may define an orientation of displaydevice 140. In some implementations, orientation of display device 140may refer to one or more of a pitch angle, a roll angle, a yaw angle,and/or other measurements. An orientation sensor may include an inertialmeasurement unit (IMU) such as one or more of an accelerometer, agyroscope, a magnetometer, Inclinometers, and/or other devices. Invarious implementations, the orientation of display device 140 may becommunicated to image generation component 120 to generate and/or updateimages of virtual content to be viewed via display device 140.

Sign post 150 may comprise a wirelessly connectable device linked to apower source and associated with multiple linkage points. For example,the device may comprise a powered and Bluetooth enabled flash drive, asmartphone, a cellphone, a tablet, or other user device. The multiplelinkage points may comprise markers, transponders, stitching points,and/or other identified points on the device. For example, and referringto FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, sign post 150 may comprise a device 400 andmultiple linkage points 402. In various implementations, multiplelinkage points 402 may be defined based on a sign post applicationinstalled on sign post 150. Sign post 150 may be configured to interactwith multiple users (or multiple users devices) simultaneously. Signpost 150 may be configured to provide information to a user (or a deviceof a user) defining virtual content and a correlation between thelinkage points and a reference frame of the virtual content.

Implementations of the disclosure may be made in hardware, firmware,software, or any suitable combination thereof. Aspects of the disclosuremay be implemented as instructions stored on a machine-readable medium,which may be read and executed by one or more processors. Amachine-readable medium may include any mechanism for storing ortransmitting information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., acomputing device). For example, a tangible computer readable storagemedium may include read only memory, random access memory, magnetic diskstorage media, optical storage media, flash memory devices, and others,and a machine-readable transmission media may include forms ofpropagated signals, such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digitalsignals, and others. Firmware, software, routines, or instructions maybe described herein in terms of specific exemplary aspects andimplementations of the disclosure, and performing certain actions.

Although processor 110, electronic storage 130, display device 140, andsign post 150 are shown to be connected to interface 102 in FIG. 1 , anycommunication medium may be used to facilitate interaction between anycomponents of system 100. One or more components of system 100 maycommunicate with each other through hard-wired communication, wirelesscommunication, or both. For example, one or more components of system100 may communicate with each other through a network. For example,processor 110 may wirelessly communicate with electronic storage 130. Byway of non-limiting example, wireless communication may include one ormore of the Internet, radio communication, Bluetooth communication,Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication, Wi-Fi communication, cellularcommunication, infrared communication, or other wireless communication.Other types of communications are contemplated by the presentdisclosure.

Although processor 110 is illustrated in FIG. 1 as a single component,this is for illustrative purposes only. In some implementations,processor 110 may comprise multiple processing units. These processingunits may be physically located within the same device, or processor 110may represent processing functionality of multiple devices operating incoordination. For example, processor 110 may be located within a userdevice, display device 140, sign post 150, and/or other components ofsystem 100. In some implementations, processor 110 may be remote from auser device, display device 140, sign post 150, and/or other componentsof system 100. Processor 110 may be configured to execute one or morecomponents by software; hardware; firmware; some combination ofsoftware, hardware, and/or firmware; and/or other mechanisms forconfiguring processing capabilities on processor 110.

Furthermore, it should be appreciated that although the variousinstructions are illustrated in FIG. 1 as being co-located within asingle processing unit, in implementations in processor(s) 110 includemultiple processing units, one or more instructions may be executedremotely from the other instructions.

The description of the functionality provided by the differentcomputer-readable instructions described herein is for illustrativepurposes, and is not intended to be limiting, as any of instructions mayprovide more or less functionality than is described. For example, oneor more of the instructions may be eliminated, and some or all of itsfunctionality may be provided by other ones of the instructions. Asanother example, processor(s) 110 may be programmed by one or moreadditional instructions that may perform some or all of thefunctionality attributed herein to one of the computer-readableinstructions.

Exemplary Flowchart of Process

FIG. 5 illustrates a method 500 for utilizing a device as a marker forvirtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment, inaccordance with one or more implementations. The operations of method500 presented below are intended to be illustrative and, as such, shouldnot be viewed as limiting. In some implementations, method 500 may beaccomplished with one or more additional operations not described,and/or without one or more of the operations discussed. In someimplementations, two or more of the operations may occur substantiallysimultaneously. The described operations may be accomplished using someor all of the system components described in detail above.

In some implementations, method 500 may be implemented in one or moreprocessing devices (e.g., a digital processor, an analog processor, adigital circuit designed to process information, a central processingunit, a graphics processing unit, a microcontroller, an analog circuitdesigned to process information, a state machine, and/or othermechanisms for electronically processing information). The one or moreprocessing devices may include one or more devices executing some or allof the operations of method 500 in response to instructions storedelectronically on one or more electronic storage mediums. The one ormore processing devices may include one or more devices configuredthrough hardware, firmware, and/or software to be specifically designedfor execution of one or more of the operations of method 500.

In an operation 502, method 500 may include facilitating one or morecommunication sessions between a user device and a sign post. In variousimplementations, the one or more communications sessions that areestablished between at least one user device and a sign post may enablethe user device to provide information to or receive information fromthe sign post with or without a connection to a network (e.g., theInternet) by providing or receiving the information via the one or morecommunications sessions. In some implementations, operation 502 may beperformed by a processor component the same as or similar tocommunication session component 114 (shown in FIG. 1 and describedherein).

In an operation 504, method 500 may include identifying a set of virtualcontent to be displayed to a user in an augmented reality environment asif it were present in the real world. In various implementations, a usermay be provided with a user interface displaying a list of virtualcontent available to be presented via a display device. In someimplementations, the user interface may comprise selectable icons, inputfields, and/or other user input options enabling a user to selectvirtual content, or a set of virtual content, to be displayed via thedisplay device. The set of virtual content to be displayed in theaugmented reality environment as if it were present in the real worldmay be identified based on the selection. In some implementations,operation 504 may be performed by a processor component the same as orsimilar to user interface component 116 (shown in FIG. 1 and describedherein).

In an operation 506, method 500 may include obtaining virtual contentinformation from the sign post. The virtual content information maydefine a set of virtual content and a correlation between linkage pointsassociated with the sign post and a reference frame of the virtualcontent. The virtual content information may be automatically obtainedwhen one or more communication sessions have been established or inresponse to a request for virtual content from a user received at adevice of the user. In some implementations, operation 506 may beperformed by a processor component the same as or similar to contentmanagement component 118 (shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

In an operation 508, method 500 may include generating an image of theset of virtual content based on the field of view of the user and thecorrelation between the linkage points associated with the device andthe reference frame of the virtual content. A user's field of view maybe defined based on orientation information, location information,and/or other information. The linkage points associated with a sign postmay serve as an anchor for the reference frame of the virtual content.As such, when rendered in an augmented reality environment by thedisplay device, the virtual content may appear within a user's field ofview based on how the reference frame of the virtual content iscorrelated to the real world by virtue of the position of the linkagepoints in the real world. In some implementations, operation 508 may beperformed by a processor component the same as or similar to imagegeneration component 120 (shown in FIG. 1 and described herein).

In an operation 510, method 500 may include causing the generated imageto be displayed in the augmented reality environment via a displaycomponent. In various implementations, the generated image is caused tobe displayed in the augmented reality environment via the displaycomponent by transmitting instructions to the display component. In someimplementations, operation 510 may be performed by a processor componentthe same as or similar to display control component 122 (shown in FIG. 1and described herein).

For purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth inorder to provide a thorough understanding of the description. It will beapparent, however, to one skilled in the art that implementations of thedisclosure can be practiced without these specific details. In someinstances, modules, structures, processes, features, and devices areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring the description.In other instances, functional block diagrams and flow diagrams areshown to represent data and logic flows. The components of blockdiagrams and flow diagrams (e.g., modules, blocks, structures, devices,features, etc.) may be variously combined, separated, removed,reordered, and replaced in a manner other than as expressly describedand depicted herein.

Reference in this specification to “one implementation”, “animplementation”, “some implementations”, “various implementations”,“certain implementations”, “other implementations”, “one series ofimplementations”, or the like means that a particular feature, design,structure, or characteristic described in connection with theimplementation is included in at least one implementation of thedisclosure. The appearances of, for example, the phrase “in oneimplementation” or “in an implementation” in various places in thespecification are not necessarily all referring to the sameimplementation, nor are separate or alternative implementations mutuallyexclusive of other implementations. Moreover, whether or not there isexpress reference to an “implementation” or the like, various featuresare described, which may be variously combined and included in someimplementations, but also variously omitted in other implementations.Similarly, various features are described that may be preferences orrequirements for some implementations, but not other implementations.

The language used herein has been principally selected for readabilityand instructional purposes, and it may not have been selected todelineate or circumscribe the inventive subject matter. Otherimplementations, uses and advantages of the invention will be apparentto those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification andpractice of the invention disclosed herein. The specification should beconsidered exemplary only, and the scope of the invention is accordinglyintended to be limited only by the following claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system configured to utilize a marker device asa marker for virtual content viewed in an augmented reality environment,wherein the marker device includes electronic storage that storesvirtual content information, the system comprising: a presentationdevice configured to form images of the virtual content configured to beperceived in the augmented reality environment by a user as if it werepresent in a real world; and one or more physical computer processorsconfigured by computer readable instructions to: facilitate a wirelesscommunication session between a device of the user and the markerdevice, wherein the marker device stores a set of virtual contentavailable for presentation, wherein some of the set of virtual contentis defined by virtual content information stored on the marker deviceand some of the set of virtual content is defined by other virtualcontent information downloaded by the marker device from the Internet orcloud storage, wherein the set of virtual content is defined by acombination of the virtual content information and the other virtualcontent information, wherein the wireless communication session isfacilitated responsive to a location of the user being within a definedproximity of the marker device, wherein the location of the user isdetermined based on location information obtained from a GlobalPositioning System component of the device of the user; obtain thevirtual content information from the marker device during the wirelesscommunication session with the marker device, the virtual contentinformation defining a visual representation of the set of virtualcontent; cause the other virtual content information to be downloaded bythe marker device from the Internet or the cloud storage; generate animage of the set of virtual content in accordance with the visualrepresentation defined by the combination of the virtual contentinformation and the other virtual content information to be presented inthe augmented reality environment by combining the virtual contentinformation obtained from the marker device during the wirelesscommunication session and the other virtual content informationdownloaded by the marker device from the Internet or the cloud storage,wherein the image of the set of virtual content is generated based on afield of view of the user, wherein the field of a view of the user isdefined based on location information and orientation information, thelocation information indicating at least a current location associatedwith the presentation device, and the orientation information indicatingat least a pitch angle, a roll angle, and a yaw angle associated withthe presentation device; and cause the generated image to be presentedin the augmented reality environment via the presentation device.
 2. Thesystem of claim 1, wherein the one or more physical computer processorsare further configured to: receive an indication of multiple sets ofvirtual content stored on the marker device, wherein individual ones ofthe sets of virtual content comprises one or more virtual content itemsand the sets of virtual content include at least the set of virtualcontent; cause a selectable list of the sets of virtual content to bepresented to the user; and receive a selection indicating the set ofvirtual content, wherein the image of the set of virtual content isgenerated based on the selection.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein theone or more physical computer processors are further configured to:receive an indication of a selection of the set of virtual content,wherein causing the other virtual content information defining some ofthe set of virtual content to be downloaded by the marker device isbased on the selection.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the one ormore physical computer processors are further configured to: determinethat the other virtual content information defining the selected set ofvirtual content is not locally stored by the marker device, wherein theother virtual content information is caused to be downloaded by themarker device based on the determination that the other virtual contentinformation is not locally stored by the marker device.
 5. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the one or more processors are further configured tomodify the virtual content information and/or the other virtual contentinformation to reflect modifications to the set of virtual content inputby user interaction with the set of virtual content through thepresentation device, wherein the user interaction includes userinteraction by the user and/or one or more other users.
 6. The system ofclaim 5, wherein the one or more processors are further configured tocommunicate the modifications to the set of virtual content to themarker device via the wireless communication session.
 7. The system ofclaim 5, wherein the one or more processors are further configured to:generate one or more updated images of the set of virtual content inaccordance with the modifications to the set of virtual content, whereinthe one or more updated images of the set of virtual content aregenerated based on one or more fields of view of the one or more users,wherein the one or more generated updated images are different; andcause the one or more generated updated images to be presented in theaugmented reality environment via one or more presentation devicesassociated with the one or more other users.
 8. The system of claim 7,wherein the one or more users includes a second user that is associatedwith a second presentation device, wherein the one or more generatedupdated images includes a second updated image, wherein the secondupdated image is based on the modifications input by the second user andthe field of view of the second user, wherein the one or more processorsare further configured to cause the second updated image to be presentedin the augmented reality environment via the second presentation device.9. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more processors are furtherconfigured to cause the one or more generated updated images to bepresented in the augmented reality environment via the one or morepresentation devices associated with the one or more other userscontemporaneously and in real-time.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein asecond presentation device is associated with a second user, wherein theone or more processors are further configured to: generate a secondimage of the set of virtual content in accordance with the visualrepresentation defined by the virtual content information to bepresented in the augmented reality environment by combining the virtualcontent information obtained from the marker device during the wirelesscommunication session and the other virtual content informationdownloaded from the Internet or the cloud storage, wherein the image ofthe set of virtual content is generated based on a field of view of thesecond user, wherein the field of view of the user and the field of viewof the second user are different; and cause the generated second imageto be presented in the augmented reality environment via the secondpresentation device contemporaneously with the generated image to bepresented in the augmented reality environment via the presentationdevice.
 11. A marker device configured to facilitate presentation ofvirtual content in an augmented reality environment via a presentationdevice under the control of one or more presentation device processors,the presentation device being configured to form images of the virtualcontent configured to be perceived in the augmented reality environmentas if it were present in the real world, the marker device comprising:electronic storage that stores a set of virtual content available forpresentation, wherein some of the set of virtual content is defined byvirtual content information, the virtual content information definingvisual representation of the set of virtual content such that generationof images of the set of virtual content is based on the virtual contentinformation and other virtual content information downloaded from theInternet or cloud storage; and a wireless transponder configured towirelessly communicate, via a wireless communication session between adevice of a user and the marker device, the virtual content informationto the one or more presentation device processors to facilitategeneration of an image of the set of virtual content by the presentationdevice in the augmented reality environment in accordance with thevirtual content information, wherein the wireless communication sessionis facilitated responsive to a location of the user being within adefined proximity of the marker device, wherein the location of the useris determined based on location information from a Global PositioningSystem component of the device of the user.
 12. The marker device ofclaim 11, wherein the electronic storage stores virtual contentinformation corresponding to multiple different sets of virtual content,wherein the marker device is further configured to wirelessly transmit alist of at least some of the different sets of virtual content to thepresentation device for presentation to facilitate user selection of oneof the different sets of virtual content, and wherein the set of virtualcontent is included in the different sets of virtual content.
 13. Themarker device of claim 12, wherein wireless transmission of the virtualcontent information for the set of virtual content is responsive to userselection of the set of virtual content on the presentation device. 14.The marker device of claim 11, further configured to receive, viawireless communication with the presentation device, changes to thevirtual content information associated with changes made to the set ofvirtual content by the user through interaction with the set of virtualcontent on the presentation device, and to store the changes in theelectronic storage.
 15. The marker device of claim 14, furtherconfigured to wirelessly transmit, via the wireless transponder to oneor more presentation device processors associated with a secondpresentation device, the virtual content associated with the set ofvirtual content with reflecting the changes to the set of virtualcontent by the user and/or other users, such wireless transmissionfacilitating generation of an image of the set of virtual content on thesecond presentation device with the changes such that the image of theset of virtual content is viewable via the second presentation device inreal-time.
 16. The marker device of claim 14, wherein the electronicstorage further stores access controls for individual ones of thedifferent sets of virtual content, wherein the access controls for theset of virtual content indicate whether or not the changes made to theset of virtual content by the user are stored to the electronic storage.17. The marker device of claim 16, wherein storage of the changes madeto the set of virtual content by the user through interaction with theset of virtual content on the presentation device is responsive to theaccess controls for the set of virtual content indicating such changesare stored to the electronic storage.
 18. The marker device of claim 11,wherein the electronic storage further stores access controls for theset of virtual content, the access controls for the set of virtualcontent indicating whether the user associated with the presentationdevice should be able to access the set of virtual content.
 19. Themarker device of claim 18, further configured such that wirelesstransmission of the virtual content information to the one or morepresentation device processors to facilitate generation of the image ofthe set of virtual content by the presentation device in the augmentedreality environment in accordance with the virtual content informationis responsive to the access controls for the set of virtual contentindicating the user associated with the presentation device should beable to access the set of virtual content.